Move to permit Rs.130 cr BT cotton seeds price hike burden!

It is learnt that under the pressure of multinational B.T. cotton seeds company the government of Gujarat is going to permit price hike of Rs. 200 per BT cotton seeds packet in the state. In Gujarat about 6.5 million BT cotton packets are sold to farmers every year before monsoon according to one estimate. Based on this estimate price hike of Rs. 200 per packet will bring Rs. 130 crore extra burden to farmers of Gujarat in kharif season. While two northern states have granted permission for price hike recently, there are states like Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh that have not granted price hike.

It is widely discussed that one key officer of agriculture department, known for his highly corrupt conduct in past, is pushing for price hike in seeds company’s interest.

Looking at other side, once upon a time there were no seeds companies, and farmers used to generate seeds themselves. Then desi companies arrived and they were doing moderate business with research inputs from universities. But for last several years, BT cotton has captured the farms, and now when multinational company is enjoying dominance over the market, it has started dictating price hike. Suppose if government is not ready to grant price rise, the company would threaten to create short supply situation.